Women have had it hard in technology and STEM fields. Even being head of the combat support team in the Marine Corps Cyberspace Command doesn't guarantee equality. Leila Doumanis is just that, and quoted to a WIRED interviewer that she has to constantly ask, "Would it be different if you were a man? Would they have listened if you were a guy? It's hard sometimes to get past that." She goes onto explain how the military is "a man's world" and that although she has great opportunities, she isn't taken seriously as much as the men of the same ranking. Some of the men in the military didn't even know how to talk to her or look at her when she first joined.
The women of the tech fields are given an unspoken rule to not speak about their gender equality problems in the workplace. This can make it hard to bring awareness to such problems. The suppression of women on speaking of gender equality problems is a gender equality problem within itself. When men speak on behalf of women not being treated fairly, that man is greatly praised for his awareness and sensitivity on women's issues, but a woman does it and she is ignored or even worse, loses the status she worked so hard to receive. Women in the tech field in the military have it even harder because although the tech industry itself is male-dominated and the military is male-dominated, putting two male-dominated industries together makes it even more male-dominated. This is extremely difficult for Leila Doumanis, but hopefully, her interview with WIRED will give women more of an opportunity in the field to talk about their oppression.
Article by WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/women-cybersecurity-nsa-cyber-command/
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